Malebolge
The 'is the series of ten circular ditches that comprise the eighth circle of Hell, one for each different type of Fraud. Panderers and Seducers ''"Allow the sight of these ill born souls to strike you, below the panderers and seducers." '''Beatrice "The panderers and seducers will spend eternity beaten, prodded and whipped by Lucifer's lieutenants." 'Thais' The first ditch contains the panderers and seducers, who exploited the sexual desires of others to lead them to sin. The souls here are driven to walk for eternity, whipped and beaten by horned demons, just as they drove others to sin in life. They lash and rend the flesh of sinners with every step they take. Among those confined here is Jason, leader of the Argonauts. His plan of seducing the sorceress Medea into tricking the dragon that guarded the Golden Fleece and then abandoning her for a younger wife sealed his fate here. Flatterers :"These wretched souls stewed in human filth suffer for the crime of flattery" 'Beatrice' "My brethren in the Malebolge, we flounder in sewage and waste." 'Thais' The second ditch contains the flatterers. Those punished here are those who, like the panderers and seducers, convinced others to sin for their own gain, this time using words. They are immersed forever in a river of human excremtent, which represents the words they produced. Among those found here is Thais the harlot, who teased and seduced hundreds of men with her beauty. Simony :"The simonist popes, those false men of the cloth whom you followed so blindly" 'Beatrice' "Sellers of favors, crimes against the church. They are trapped in baptismal baths, their feet eternally in flames." 'Thais ' :"Is that you here already upright?! IS THAT YOU HERE ALREADY UPRIGHT BONIFACE?! BY MANY YEARS THE BOOK HAS LIED TO ME!!!" 'Pope Nicholas III' The third level of the Malebolge contains the Simonists (sinners guilty of selling church offices and other religious property for personal gain). They are punished by put upside down into baptismal fonts and having their feet set aflame. The heat of the flames burns according to the guilt of the sinner. When another soul is sent to this level of the Malebolge it take the place of one of the others as the one it replaced disappears forever. Found here are several corrupt popes and cardinals, including Pope Nicholas III, who mistakes Dante for Pope Boniface VIII in the poem. Diviners :"If only the false prophets here could see your future..." 'Beatrice' "The fortune tellers should have known that they cannot see with the eyes of God. They walk with their heads backwards, their eyes awash in tears." 'Thais' The fourth ditch is devoted to the diviners and fortune tellers. Astrologists, seers, sorcerers and others who attempted to pervert God’s laws to divine the future are punished here. Their heads have been twisted around to face backwards, and thus they are forced to walk backwards around the circumference of their circle for all of time. While this mainly is ironic justice for trying to see into the futue, it also represents the twisted nature of magic in general. The blind prophet Tiresias resides in this ditch for his sins, along with his daughter Manto. instead of Diviners this circle is called Politicians on the PSP. Grafters :"The boiling pitch of the politcians among the worst of the lairs" 'Beatrice' "Great, winged demons tend to the grafters, who stole and embezzled in life. They are thrown into deep, vile pits." 'Thais' The fifth level of the Malebolge is the home of the Grafters (peculators, extortionists, blackmailers and unscrupulous businessmen: sinners who used their positions in life to gain personal wealth or other advantages for themselves). They are punished by being thrown into a river of boiling pitch and tar, which represents the sticky fingers and dark secrets of their business deals. In addition, should any of the grafters try to escape the pitch, a horde of demons ("Malebranche", meaning "evil claws") armed with grappling hooks and barbs stands guard over them, ready to tear them to pieces. Hypocrites :"You're right at home with the hypocrites, Dante, in this sixth ditch" 'Beatrice' "The cloaks of the hypocrites appear regal and noble, and yet worn as punishment, each lined with crippling lead." 'Thais' The sixth level is the punishment for hypocrites. They are forced to wear heavy lead robes as they walk around the circumference of their circle. The robes are golden and resemble a monk’s cowl but are lined with heavy lead, symbolically representing their sin: as they degraded others for sin but glorified themselves, they committed the same sins that cripples them in the afterlife with their heaviness. Also, Caiaphas, the Pharisee who insisted on the execution of Jesus, is crucified in this circle, staked to the ground so that the ranks of the lead-weighted hypocrites march across him. Thieves :"Eternaly bound by snakes, the thieves suffer below." 'Beatrice' "Thieves are held and bitten by serpents. the venom burns them to ash, only so they may reform and suffer again." 'Thais' The seventh ditch is the home of the souls of thieves. The ditch is also filled with serpents, dragons and other vengeful reptiles that torture the thieves endlessly. The bites of some of the snakes cause the thieves to spontaneously combust, only to regenerate their bodies for further torment in a few moments. Other thieves have their very essence traded with snakes and lizards that bit them, trading their identity with every bite. As thieves stole other people's possessions in life, their very identity becomes subject to theft in the Malebolge. Evil Counselors :"Stay here, and find company with the false advisors." 'Beatrice' "Evil advisers who used their forked-tongues for counsel serving their own ends. They stand ablaze." 'Thais' The eighth level is the home of evil counselors. In this trench, the souls of deceivers who gave false or corrupted advice to others for personal benefit are punished. They are constantly ablaze, appearing as nothing so much as living, speaking tongues of flame. Seen in this ditch is the Greek hero Odysseus, suffering here for the deception of the Trojan horse. Sowers of Discord :"The worst of the frauds, those who seed evil and discord among those they should trust."Beatrice'' "They hold their heads and innards, the chaos they caused in life, cast upon them in death." Thais''' The ninth level is the home of "sowers of discord". Sinners who, in life, promoted scandals, schism, and discord are punished here; particularly those who caused schism within the church or within politics. They are forced to walk around the circumference of the circle bearing horrible, disfiguring wounds inflicted on them by a great demon with a sword. The nature of the wound mirrors the sins of the particular soul; while some only have gashes, or fingers and toes cut off, others are decapitated, cut in half (as schismatics), or are completely disemboweled. Among those who are tormented here is Bertran de Born, who carries around his severed head like a lantern. Falsifiers :"The final ditch. Below are the fakes, society's plague, who suffer for eternity in disease." '''Beatrice "All thoughts of pain and suffering fall upon the falsifiers. Hear their wailing and be warned." ''Thais The final ditch. Falsifiers, those who attempted to alter things through lies or alchemy, or those who tried to pass off false things as real things, such as counterfeiters of coins, are punished here. This ditch has four subdivisions where specific classes of falsifiers (alchemists, impostors, counterfeiters, and liars) endure different degrees of punishment based on horrible, consumptive diseases such as rashes, dropsy, leprosy and consumption. Category:Locations Category:Fraud